Monday, May 17, 2010

Christ I'm Old

Saturday, May 15, 2010, was the first day I had been on a bicycle since May of 1994. It was around that time I got my learner's permit to drive a car and I never looked back.

I was a speed demon on my bike back in the day, riding as fast as I could go around the wild streets of Perryville. It was one of the greatest joys of my childhood. So, I was quite excited when my BFF Tere (who has since joined me on the century ride, very exciting) and her husband Jim accompanied me to Crystal City Cyclery to pick out my new wheels.

I will skip all of the logistics #1 because they are boring, and #2 because I was only half paying attention. I got on the first bike and found that I couldn't turn corners anymore. Hey folks, it had been a while. By the time I got done figuring out I needed a helmet, and a bag thing to keep stuff in, and the stuff to put in it, and gloves, and a cage thing to put water in, I was overwhelmed.

Jim showed me how to take off the front wheel to get the bike in my trunk, something I'm sure will take me a few tries to do on my own, and someone had better double check it every time because I'm also sure that my wheel is going to fall off at some point, causing me to face plant into the concrete.

On Sunday I was up bright and early and headed to Forest Park. The Team in Training, led by our coach, Doug, and our mentor, Jerry, was in full effect, rain or shine. We did 6 miles, which is one lap around the park, and it wasn't bad. The highlights:

1. I stopped at the first corner and had to physically turn the bike while standing because I freaked out.2. When we passed the first child on his left, I didn't veer around him far enough and ran into him. Awesome.3. I ran into a concrete barrier head first after crossing the street.

At least I was at the back of the pack and Jerry was the only one to see my mishaps. Even after this nervewracking weekend of out-of-my-comfort-zone-ness, I felt a great sense of accomplishment when it was done.

Stay tuned for a BIG announcement for my first TNT Leukemia and Lymphoma fundraising night!